Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Woman looking lost in a sea of shirtless, leather-clad men at San Francisco gay event identifies herself

The picture wordlessly identifies her with the feeling of being out of place, invisible or single

Shweta Sharma
Monday 24 May 2021 08:44 EDT
Comments
File image: Members of a gay group at the 29Th Annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration in 1999 In West Hollywood, California
File image: Members of a gay group at the 29Th Annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration in 1999 In West Hollywood, California

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A young woman, who looks lost and adrift amidst a sea of half-naked canoodling men in a photo that has now become a viral sensation, has identified herself and said she does not mind becoming a meme.

Amruta Godbole shared yet another meme over the weekend and said: “I’m in this photo and I don’t like it.  Jk (just kidding).  I mean that is actually me in the photo.  But I like it every time.”

The meme was captioned "Olivia Rodrigo with her fans,” referring to the teenage pop star who has earned a huge gay fanbase with her record-breaking debut single “Drivers License.”

Ms Godbole’s picture shows her standing in the middle of leather harness-clad gay men at a San Francisco street fair in 2017, looking seemingly lost and confused.

The picture clicked by her friend from above instantly gave fodder to the meme culture, wordlessly identifying her with the feeling of being out of place, invisible or single.

Ms Godbole, 35, who is a corporate lawyer, told BuzzFeed, she felt like a “fish out of water” during the event and it is amusing for her acquaintances to see her in the funny meme, given the seriousness of her profession.

"One of my main groups of friends in San Francisco is a group of gay men, so I have often found myself in situations where I’m the one woman amid all of these gay men," she said.

She says the fact that she stood out in the picture so clear is because her height is 5’1, and “they’re all very tall and muscular.”

Ms Godbole said she often get these memes sent in her message box with her co-workers identifying her or asking if it is her in the picture.

"People send it to me and say ‘Is this you? What is happening here?" Ms Godbole said.

"When I was previously working at a big corporate law firm, that was very stodgy and old school, a colleague sent me a text exchange between him and a colleague asking if it was me," she said.

“So it’s a funny thing for people who know me in the context of being a serious lawyer."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in